In a relatively unexpected move the Pistons were able to acquire Brandon Jennings in a sign and trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. There were signs that the Bucks had interest in moving on from Jennings when they submitted a tender offer to restricted free agent Jeff Teague for 4 years, $32 million. The offer ended up getting matched by the Hawks. That left many to believe that for lack of a better option the Bucks would end up retaining Jennings. Instead the Bucks, did a sign and trade out of left field moving Jennings to the Pistons.
Pistons
Acquired
Brandon Jennings, PG 6’1” 169 lbs
Grade: A
Projected 2013-14 Lineup
PG: Brandon Jennings
SG: Kentavious-Caldwell Pope
SF: Josh Smith
PF: Greg Monroe
C: Andre Drummond
I’ll say this off the bat. Jennings is one of the most talented players in the league. If you have seen any Bucks games (which there’s a good chance you haven’t) you would wonder why he’s not an all-star. He’s as fast and athletic as almost any point guard in the NBA, except Russell Westbrook. Jennings’ struggles are derived from his mental immaturity. He was one of those very overhyped players in high school. Many projected Jennings as one of the top three college prospects and a surefire pro.
He had already committed to Arizona when academic ineligibility questions started to arise. It was also one of the first years since the NBA had implemented the infamous ‘one and done rule’. Forcing high school athletes to enter a one year limbo after high school graduation before being eligible for the NBA draft. Jennings set precedent by foregoing one year at college and instead opting to play professionally in Italy. In his year abroad, Jennings played moderately but mostly NBA scouts forgot about him. A guy projected to go in the top 5 in the NBA draft the prior year, Jennings slipped to the Milwaukee Bucks at #9. Going from the top dog in high school to the best player on a small market certainly didn’t help Jenning’s maturity. He continued to be a high volume and inefficient scorer from the point guard position. At 23 years old, Jennings still classifies as a talented head case worth taking a shot on. There is still time for him to become more mature and develop a more efficient game. If he is able to develop mentally, his game would most resemble Tony Parker.
Given, the prior moves the Pistons made this offseason I love this move. Going into the year the Pistons had a good, but incomplete core of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Monroe is a crafty forward who boasts an old school game. Instead of sheer athleticism, Monroe is able to use his skill and intelligence. He is one of the best post scorers in the NBA and a willing passer. Monroe is definitely one of the games’ most underrated players. Joining him in the frontcourt is second-year center Andre Drummond. Before being setback by a nagging back injury, Drummond looked on his way to exploding onto the scene. Lawrence Frank kept him on a minutes limit coming off the bench, yet Drummond was still able to manage 9 double doubles in just 20.7 MPG over 60 games. Look for him to break out as one of the best centers in the NBA this season. In another surprise move the Pistons were able to wrangle Josh Smith away from both the Mavericks and Hawks. Smith had long been rumored to leave the Hawks. He became an unrestricted free agent after the Hawks failed to move him at the midseason trade deadline. Smith is very good at everything, but great at nothing. Jennings’ score-first mentality from the point guard position actually seems to fit very well on a team without a top 20 scorer.
With their recent additions the Pistons should be a lock to make the playoffs this year. I expect them to be the 5th or 6th seed in the Eastern Conference. With the talent level they have I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Pistons grab a top 4 seed in the East either. They have the potential to be the surprise team of the year.
Bucks
Acquired
Brandon Knight, PG 6’3” 169 lbs
Khris Middleton, SF 6’8” 217 lbs
Slava Kravtsov, C 6’11” 254 lbs
Grade: B+
Projected 2013-14 Lineup
PG: Brandon Knight
SG: O.J. Mayo
SF: Ersan Ilyasova
PF: Larry Sanders
C: John Henson
Usually the team who gets the best player in the NBA wins the trade. However, this is one of those cases where I really like the deal for the other team as well. Let’s be honest, the Bucks weren’t going anywhere with Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. They are two undersized, me-first guards. Both are very talented, but volume shooters that need the ball in their hands. In his four years in the NBA, Jennings has only shot over 40% from the field once. Averaging a career 15.5 FGA per game, Jennings may very well be the most inefficient scorer in the NBA. Not to mention that as a 6’2” shooting guard, Ellis is one of the biggest defensive liabilities in the NBA. Jennings is no lockdown defender either.
Admittedly, their ability to share the ball with each other was impressive. Jennings and Ellis both showed that they could pass the ball some with 6.5 APG and 5.8 APG respectively. But their inefficient scoring and lack of defensive ability always negated their talents on the offensive end. The point is that it was time to move on for the Bucks. Those two guys put fans in the seats, but you’re never going to win a championship with Jennings and Ellis. In this situation most small market teams don’t make the move. The owner is usually more concerned with filling seats than the long-term success of the team. I give a lot of respect to GM John Hammond. He let Ellis walk to the Mavericks. Then when he was unable to land Jeff Teague via free agency, or sign and trade, he didn’t panic. Hammond could have easily panicked and signed Jennings to a three year deal and no one would have batted an eye. Instead he orchestrated a sign and trade to get young talent and cap flexibility.
The Bucks got a solid haul for the league’s most inefficient player. The trade clearly centered around the talented 21-year old, Brandon Knight. Knight is still developing, but got some help on that path as the starting point guard of the Pistons his first two years in the NBA. Last year, he averaged 13.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 4.0 APG. He clearly has the physique and talent to be an all-around point guard. However, he needs to work on his decision making. His unimpressive 4 assists were accompanied by an even less desirable 2.7 TO a game. Knight has the talent to become an all-star point guard, and at 21 still has his best years ahead of him.
What the Bucks’ more importantly got was some cap flexibility. Without having to pay Jennings $8 million over the next three years, the Bucks can pay Knight less than half for the next two. Additionally, youngsters Henson and Antetokounmpo are on rookie contracts until 2016 and 2017 respectively. In the 2015 offseason the Bucks will have a plethora of young talent on the roster with space for a max contract (assuming they don’t pull a DeAndre Jordan with Larry Sanders). The 2015 offseason is where guys like Lebron James and Rajon Rondo will be available. Yeah they’re pretty good. It also puts them in a position to possibly tank for this upcoming season. They could be anywhere from a fringe playoff team to the bottom of the barrel. If I’m a Bucks fan, I’m rooting for the latter. With the best prospect since Lebron James in this year’s draft the Bucks should try and get as many balls in Adam Silver’s face as possible. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, you should probably go to youtube right now and type in Andrew Wiggins.
While I think the Pistons definitely got the player in the deal, the Bucks made out well. They got a young, talented player in Knight and future cap space to potentially land a max player for a guy who wasn’t going to take them anywhere. They have also entered the Woe for Wiggins sweepstakes. May the best(worst) team win(lose).